The planned demolition of an 1800s country homestead could be halted after Ballarat councillors decided to seek an interim heritage overlay.
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"Lintel Grange", at 127 Edmonston Road, Addington, has been occupied by five generations of the Edmonston family since the 1860s.
The current owners lodged a planning application with the City of Ballarat in June to demolish the homestead and agricultural building.
A new five-bedroom house, with a swimming pool, would be built in the same area of the old homestead in an expected $2 million development.
At the council's planning delegated committee meeting on July 12, councillors supported officers' recommendation to seek an interim heritage overlay.
The council will request the Minister for Planning to apply the interim heritage overlay to the property until July 12, 2024 to protect the homestead from demolition.
A decision to seek a planning scheme amendment for permanent heritage control will be considered at a later stage, the council says.
A council online statement says initial investigations indicate the property has local heritage significance.
"Research was undertaken on the property, and it was determined to have had significant historical links to the settlement of Learmonth, as a prosperous farming area," the statement says.
Councillors noted officers should work closely with the landowner to understand the state of the buildings. They have requested a further report in order to consider the next steps in the planning process.
Scotland's Charles Edmonston arrived in Victoria in 1851 and built "Lintel Grange", taking up residence in the 1860s. He married Elizabeth Leys in 1862.
He died at "Lintel Grange" in 1906 aged 85, leaving his estate to sons Charles Edmonston and Donald Bell Edmonston.
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